Just Play the Chord
by xXInkstainedHeartXx
Summary: Gumi has always lived a quiet, lonely life. Abandoned at the age of 12 and haunted by horrific memories, she moved to an abandoned hospital, where she befriended a white-haired alcoholic. But now, four years later, the deserted city is starting to stir with the activity of one of the most dangerous gangs in the world…The Matryoshka.
1. A Lonely Package

**Hello! I started toying with this idea last week, and now I'm trying it out to see how it goes. If its not so popular I'll ditch it, but please read and let me know what you think! This story is very loosely based off of Matryoshka, but like with my other story, you'll start to see more connections as the story progresses. Thanks! xx**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid or Matryoshka.**

* * *

1: A LONELY PACKAGE

Gumi leaned against the tall grey building, shivering and smoking a cigarette. The air was thick and frigid today. Just like every other day. She pulled the thin red hoodie tightly around her and tried to stop shivering. It wasn't easy.

"Hey, you got a light?" A voice called from across the barren street. Gumi raised an eyebrow. Usually she was the only one out here- all of the other rogues hung out under bridges and under doorways. She came here often because it was so quiet and peaceful.

"Yeah." She called back, and the figure started moving toward her. When he was close enough, she could see that he was very…odd looking. He had light blue hair, but Gumi didn't mind that- hers was bright green, after all. No, it was the three blue stripes tattooed across the bridge of his nose that made her curious. He seemed young; about her age, maybe 15.

"Thanks, man." He said, after she helped light his cigarette. He smiled and reclined against the wall next to her. He seemed very happy for a rogue.

"Do you live around here?" She asked him. He laughed, which annoyed her.

"Uh, yeah." As if to answer her, he simply pointed to the stripes on his nose.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" She said bitterly, puffing out a ring of smoke. It drifted into the sky and melted into the air.

The boy raised his eyebrows, turning to look at her. She ignored him. She didn't like it when people talked down to her.

"You really don't know what these mean?" He pointed to those stupid stripes again.

"Uh, no?" She rolled her eyes.

"Wow. You must live under a rock." He laughed again. It wasn't a cruel laugh, but it was condescending. In response, Gumi stuck her middle finger in his face and started walking away.

"Hey! Hey wait!" He called behind her, but she stuck her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and walked faster against the cold wind.

He was persistent.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she whirled around, baring her teeth.

"Don't touch me."

He withdrew it immediately, surprised. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude back there. I was just shocked, I'm in this group you see, and we're pretty well known…"

"Does it look like I give a fuck?" Gumi rolled her eyes again. She was good at that. One of her skills.

"Well, no, I just…do you want to join?" He blurted out.

Gumi raised an eyebrow. "Join what?"

"My group…"

"And by group, do you mean gang?"

He hesitated, and she huffed. "I'm not joining a gang."

"It's not really…okay, yeah, it is." He sighed. "But I can tell you're a rogue, and we recruit dozens of them every month. So here…" She waited impatiently while he scribbled something on the back of an empty cigarette box.

When he was done, she stuffed it in her pocket, knowing she would just toss it later.

"Yeah, whatever, thanks." She said, and started to walk away again.

"Wait! Come on, can I at least introduce myself?"

What the Hell was this guy's problem? Gumi whipped around again and stuck out her rough palm.

"Gumi." She snapped. He smiled, cheery as ever, and said, "Mikuo."

As she walked away, his sweet, happy voice called, "Consider it, yeah?"

She shook her head in disgust and kept walking.

A few streets over, she dug out the cigarette pack to toss it in a bin. Before she did, though, she read it.

_**MATRYOSHKA **_

_**524 KALINKA STREET**_

**_... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..._**

"Holy shit, the Matryoshka?" Haku set down her bottle of Coors, to Gumi's shock.

"Yeah. Some dude called Mikuo. Asks for a light, makes fun of me, and then asks me to join his gang. Dumb, right?" Gumi sighed and rubbed her hands together. Despite being under three moth-eaten blankets, it was still freezing. That was one setback of living in an abandoned hospital- no heating. They did get thirteen floors to themselves though. Thirteen floors between herself, Haku, and the crazy old man in the lobby.

"Do you have any idea how big that is? The Matryoshka…they're the real thing, man. Possibly the biggest, most dangerous gang in the country."

"How have I not heard of them then?" Gumi asked, grouchy. She didn't need this from her best friend, too.

"Do you usually keep yourself up to date on gang activity?" Haku smirked. "I love gossip, remember?"

That was true. Haku was always spouting some rumor that Gumi could care less about. Of course she'd know all about this weird gang.

"He had these strange stripes…" Gumi drew a finger across the bridge of her nose. Haku nodded rapidly. "That's one of their trademarks. Everyone's required to get one."

For a second, Gumi pictured herself with a black stripe stretched across her nose, with eyeliner and mascara making her features more dramatic.

She shook her head. She was not going to join a gang.

"Are you thinking about it?" Haku asked, tilting her head. She gulped down the rest of her beer and reached for another.

Gumi took the beer from her and put it away. "No. I mean…maybe…no. Definitely not."

Haku raised an eyebrow. "I think you should. There'd be a lot more protection than living here."

"Then you'd be alone, and you'd drink yourself to death." Gumi said, only half-joking. Haku's alcohol problem was getting worse every week.

"Nah. I'd invite some other pathetic rogue in. You're expendable." Haku smirked, and Gumi threw a pillow at her. Haku caught it, and suddenly, her face started paling. She heaved a few breaths, and Gumi said, "Don't!"

But Haku puked all over the pillow anyway.


	2. Loud and Clear

2: LOUD AND CLEAR

The dance was in full swing. Teenagers with multicolored hair and bright clothing moved at an insane rhythm, sometimes dancing together, sometimes alone. It was a frenzy of excitement. Sweat mixed with alcohol. Music filled their ears and blocked out all other noises.

When the music stopped as the band took a sip of water, someone shouted, "Just play the damn song!" And it started up again, as loud as before.

One person wasn't nearly as pumped as everyone else. She leaned against the back wall, face buried in the turtleneck of her green jacket. Everyone else warmed up by jumped around like idiots, but she was freezing in the back.

She was just fine being by herself, but someone crept up next to her.

"Ma'am? Not enjoying the festivities?" The low, kind voice asked. Miku looked to her left and sighed. Her right hand man. Her number two. Constantly by her side, always pestering her. At least he was a good fighter.

"Go away, Kaito." She mumbled, and took a sip of coffee from her thermos. It was disgusting, and she wrinkled her nose, creasing the four blue stripes that were tattooed there.

"In a minute." Kaito replied, and gently took Miku's thermos away from her. Before she could protest, he replaced it with a mug of cider.

"This is better, trust me."

Miku raised an eyebrow at him, and then mumbled a thank-you.

"Why aren't you dancing?" She asked the blue-haired boy, drinking half of the mug in one gulp. He shrugged. "Just don't feel like it today. And what about you? Not going to show them how it's done?"

Miku sniggered. "You know I never dance."

Kaito didn't reply. He scratched the bridge of his nose, where three stripes were tattooed. The two teens looked on as the rest of the gang made fools of themselves, dancing all of their problems away.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Someone was staring at him.

Gakupo frowned, leaning forward to get a better look at the girl. She stood outside, on the street, and peered into the glass window.

No one ever came to this entrance; it was why Gakupo's job was so boring. So he stood there, waiting for her to come in. "Please." He muttered under his breath. "Give me something to do. Someone to report, someone to attack. Something."

She approached the door, but did not open it. Instead, she stuffed her hands in her pockets, and walked away.

... … … … … … .. … … … … .. .. .. . ..

Mikuo arranged to meet his sister in her office for lunch the next day. It wasn't really an office- there was nothing like a desk or chairs. But it belonged to Miku, and she could call it whatever she wanted.

He brought her a sandwich and coffee, made from supplies they'd stolen. The Matryoshka had raided a lowly, pathetic excuse for a town just two nights ago. The women and children were not touched, but some of the men who resisted were either injured or dragged back to base so they could be recruited.

The guard outside his sister's door let him in. Miku wasn't there yet, so Mikuo found a spot against the wall and sat cross-legged, waiting. Her office was completely bare, except for one tiny picture hanging on the wall.

The Hatsune family posed for that picture four years ago. Miku had been fourteen, Mikuo was just twelve. In the photo, Mr. and Mrs. Hatsune had their arms draped around their kids, but their faces were turned towards each other, smiling. Miku looked bored, with her hip cocked to one side. Mikuo was laughing at some unseen joke, and holding the family dog by its bushy tail.

The Hatsune family posed for that picture two days before the fire.

"Sorry, Gakupo needed to talk to me about something." Miku swept into the room, latching the door behind her. "Were you waiting long?"

Mikuo shook his head, smiling kindly. "Thanks for making time in your busy schedule."

"Psh." Miku lifted a shoulder. "Busy? There's nothing to do around here. Sometimes…" She lowered herself down into an awkward sitting position, grimacing as her bad leg hit the floor. Mikuo reached out to help her, but she righted herself quickly. "Sometimes," She continued, "I wish I was just a recruit, and then I could go and fight."

"We haven't been fighting much these days. You're not missing anything." Mikuo assured her, wrapping her sandwich in a napkin and handing it to her. She mumbled a thanks and took a bite. Miku grimaced. "Disgusting. But yeah, we haven't had many problems with the borders, have we? And the rogues aren't giving us much trouble. All in all, this place is extremely dull."

Mikuo grunts in agreement. "Why did we come here?"

"Because it's a ghost town. Abandoned buildings, no population-with the exception of the homeless- and large open spaces for practice. Where else would we get to use an old university as home base?"

Mikuo shrugged. "True. Its beneficial….but still."

"We complain now, but if the tables ever turn, we'll be in deep shit." Miku said wisely, finishing her sandwich and tossing the napkin out an open window. "Remember when we first started? Members dropping dead every day."

"I was like 13. You kept me out of the way."

"I knew best." Miku smirked. Mikuo waited until she'd finished her coffee, and then asked, "So what was Gakupo talking to you about?"

"Oh." She rolled her eyes. "He was making a big deal about nothing."

"He always does that. What was it this time?"

"Some girl came to the side entrance and just looked in the window, like she was about to come in, and then walked away." She shrugged. Mikuo raised an eyebrow.

"Did she have…green hair?"

Miku frowned. "Um..I think so, yeah. So? Anyway, I told him I'd reassign him soon, since he's starting to get on my nerves about every single thing that happens near the side entrance."

"What was her name?" Mikuo asked rather loudly. Miku raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know."

"Thanks for lunch, sis, but I have to go talk to Gakupo." He jumped up, patted Miku on the shoulder, and hurried out of the office.

Miku stared blankly at the open window, annoyed. "What the Hell?" She asked the empty air.


	3. Something More Fantastic

3: SOMETHING MORE FANTASTIC

"You didn't even go in?" Haku looked annoyed as she gulped down her third bottle of booze.

"I didn't plan to. I just wanted to check it out." Gumi shrugged. The Styrofoam cup of cold spaghetti stared up at her from the table, mocking her. _This is the shit you have to eat,_ it said. _The Matryoshka could give you much better._

"What did you see?" Haku had never looked so intrigued. She leaned forward, grinning. "Was it just a bunch of tough dudes standing around smoking?"

Gumi huffed. "A guy in a suit, manning a desk."

"What?" Haku looked disappointed. "Was he tough-looking?"

"Long purple hair."

"Oh." Haku sighed. "Was he good looking?"

"Why the hell does that matter? The point is, it was lame. So-called 'dangerous gang' is guarded by a guy in a two-piece."

Haku shrugged and tipped back the last of the beer. She was trying to hide her disappointment, but it wasn't working. Gumi softened a bit. "Why don't _you_ just join, Haku?"

"I wasn't invited." Haku snapped. Her response was so quick and biting that Gumi recoiled a bit. She could see that Haku was hurt. The white-haired tomboy was perfect for this gang. And yet Gumi was the one invited? She couldn't help but remember what Haku told her when they first met.

... ...

"_You can't let them see how weak you are."_

_Gumi spun around, startled by the unfamiliar voice. Squinting, she could just make out a tall figure in the back of the alley. It's voice was husky and mature, but the words slightly slurred._

"_Did you hear what I said, kid? You look like I could snap you in half. Show some confidence." The figure stepped forward, and Gumi could see it was a woman, curvaceous and muscular. A few years older than Gumi, and certainly more mature. She had long, white hair, scraped back into a ponytail. Her gray clothes were tattered, but somehow, that just contributed to her bad-ass look._

"_Who…who are you?" Gumi muttered, shoving her hands in her pockets. She'd only been on the streets for a few weeks. A budding rogue. Fresh meat, some might call her._

"_Yowane Haku. Someone you might want to befriend if you keep acting like a sniveling weasel." Haku smirked, and held out a rough hand. Gumi shook it._

"_Nakajima Gumi."_

"_Gumi. Even your name is too cute." Haku said, but it was light-hearted teasing, Gumi knew. _

"_How old are ya, Gumi?"_

"_15."_

"_Damn that's young. Parents kick you out?"_

_Gumi looked at her shoes. Her scuffed, ripped Doc Martens. "I don't want to talk about it."_

_Haku rolled her eyes. "Sensitive and a weasel. We're gonna have to work on you. Where do you sleep most nights?"_

"_Under there." Gumi pointed to the damp, cold area under the old freeway. Haku groaned. "That place is disgusting. I'd move if I were you."_

"_Move where?"_

_Haku gestured to the city around them. "Anywhere. Every building is yours for the taking. Unless there's some other jerk-off already living there. You might need adult protection, in case you run into trouble. That's where I come in handy." Haku proudly pointed to her chest. "I'm legally an adult now. Just turned 21."_

"_Happy birthday."_

"_Yeah, thanks, kid. So what do you think? I was thinking abandoned hospital. Plenty of rooms, clean beds, first aid…"_

_Gumi blinked. This was all so random, so sudden. The life of a rogue was exciting, and completely new. But the bitter memories of why she ended up alone still tugged at the back of her mind…_

"_Uh, sure. Yeah. Lead the way." Gumi nodded firmly._

_Haku raised an eyebrow. "There's some confidence! Good! Let's go." The white-haired wonder wound her arm through Gumi's, and together, they ran._

_... ...  
_

Haku stared at her spaghetti. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she said, "Sorry, sorry." Her words were heavily slurred. The booze was finally hitting her. The woman had a great tolerance for alcohol, but a person can only take so much. When she continued her apology, her words were disconnected, off-beat.

"I just…I'm 23. I've been on my own for nine years…now, and I'm fine with…that but its not fair that….you get this opportunity to join…a bad-ass, famous gang and…that would give you protection-hic- and something exciting to live…your life for and…you're not even going to…_join, _damn it_."_

Gumi sighed. Even though she was completely plastered, Haku was right. What was she getting out of living in this hospital? Two years and the most Gumi had ever amounted to was good housekeeping, and looking cool. Ever since...that night...the only ally she'd managed to make was Haku.

"Come with me." Gumi said sternly. Haku looked up, raising an eyebrow and moaning drunkenly. Gumi continued, "We'll go in tomorrow. We'll go in to the dumb office, and talk to the purple haired guy. I'm sure they're always looking for recruits. They'll take us both in."

Haku eyes widened. "Really?" She slurred. Gumi nodded, smiling. "Shit, if they don't take you in immediately, their either crazy or blind. You embody the gang personality."

Haku grinned. "Thanksss, Gumi." She drawled. Then her head snapped back up again, and she said, "You never answered my question, though."

"What question?"

Haku smirked. "Is the purple-haired guy good looking?"

"Are you kidding? I could feel his hotness radiating into the street."

They laughed, and then the alcohol dragged Haku under, until she passed out.


	4. Reverse

4: REVERSE

"See anything?" Len mumbled, adjusting his binoculars. Next to him, his sister sighed. "Nothing. You?"

"Absolutely nothing." He placed the binoculars in his lap. Rin did the same.

"Why did we get this stupid job?" Len groaned, and laid back to look at the sky. It was cold up on the roof, but he didn't mind. It kept him awake and alert. Rin, however, was huddled in a ball, shivering.

"Because M-Miku hates you." Rin replied, her teeth chattering.

"That's probably true. But still, why put the two smallest people on the roof to look for enemies?"

"Being small doesn't matter, stupid. We've got the best aim." To support her statement, Rin held up the large sniper rifle that lay next to her. Len shrugged and folded his arms. "Well, you keep a look out. I'm going to take a nap."

"Why do I have to?" Rin whined, pouting.

"Nothing's going to happen. You just have to sit there." And Len closed his eyes.

Rin sighed and looked out at the ghost town surrounding them. It was so eerily quiet, she didn't know how all the rogues could stand living on their own. She felt sorry for them. Surely they were freezing and starving. If she was in charge, she'd let every single homeless person join the Matryoshka. But that wasn't how it worked, unfortunately.

Rin turned around to look at her sleeping brother, sleeping on the hard, cold roof. It was miserable up here. They couldn't deny it anymore- there was a reason for all the crappy jobs they'd been given over the past few months. It definitely had something to do with Miku's jealousy towards Len. _Poor Miku,_ Rin thought. _I should go talk to her today. Maybe I could go now, I mean, nothing's happening…_

And, as if on cue, the sound of gunshots erupted from the other side of town.

… …

"What do you think? Purple stripe?" Haku said excitedly, pointing to the bridge of her nose as they turned another corner. Gumi was in the lead, and was struggling to remember where the entrance was.

"Sure, yeah." She mumbled, not really listening. Was it to the left? That street to the right looked promising as well…

"Gumi? I said what about you?"

"Oh? Um…black. Black stripe. And then under my eyes as well." Gumi replied. She'd actually indulged in that fantasy for the past few hours. "Which one is Kalinka street? Do you know?"

"Kalinka street? Gumi, that's nowhere near here." Haku said, a few paces behind. Gumi stopped and whirled around. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…you didn't say…"

"No, you're right, sorry. But…where are we then?" Gumi asked worriedly.

They surveyed the area for a few silent seconds. Suddenly, Haku whipped around, shouting, "Who's there?"

Gumi raised an eyebrow. She hadn't heard anything. But then again, Haku had been defending herself for years before Gumi came into the picture. She was highly suspicious of everything.

"What did you hear?" Gumi hissed.

"Footsteps. I think there's someone behind the dumpster." Haku gestured stiffly to the large green bin at the end of the empty street. They waited for a few minutes, nothing happening.

"Come on, let's g-

_Click_. They froze. Gumi was young, but she sure as hell knew what cocking a gun sounded like. Haku muttered something that sounded like "Run", but Gumi didn't listen. And then, five men jumped out from behind the dumpster.

The next ten seconds were a blur. Gumi vaguely felt someone shove her to the side of the street, and at the same time, four loud pops echoed down the road. Fireworks? Gumi cracked her head on the pavement, and suddenly, everything was fuzzy. The street was suddenly painted a lovely shade of crimson. She faintly heard footsteps thundering away from the scene. A voice far away shouted, "Shit! Thought they were Matryoshka." Gumi lay there, unable to move, dazed. What was going on?

Oh well. Too exhausted to find out. Have to…sleep…

And then everything was black.

... …

Mikuo pushed his way through the large crowd, shouting, "Let me through! God damn it, move!" His fellow Matryoshka yelled complaints, but when he quickly pointed to the three stripes on his nose, they reluctantly let him through. The room was so loud and chaotic, he had no idea what was going on. He'd just heard a rumor that two girls were brought in from a fight in the streets.

Finally, Mikuo reached the middle of the room, and his heart sank.

Two stretchers. One carrying the green haired girl- Gumi, wasn't it?- and the other carrying an unfamiliar one. That one used to have white hair, but it was now streaked with so much blood that it had become a light pink. They were both unconscious. Gumi only had one wound- a large graze on her arm. The white-haired girl, however…

Miku came up behind him, and said softly, "Four bullets. Two in the stomach, one in the leg…and one in the heart."

So she wasn't unconscious.

"Who did it?" Mikuo asked, and Miku shrugged. "We have no idea. Rin and Len heard the gunshots, and orderlies retrieved the girls."

"Out of the way!" A loud, commanding voice cut through the chaos around them like a sharp knife. As Luka Megurine approached the stretchers, medical interns following closely behind, the room fell hopefully silent. Mikuo could taste the tension in the air as Luka bent over to take Gumi's pulse; feel her heartbeat. The older woman flashed a thumbs up to the crowd, who sighed with relief. Then Luka moved over to the other girl. She barely had to touch the body before making a deduction. Calling one of the orderlies over, she whispered something in their ear, and the body was taken away.

It was around this time that Gumi became conscious.

Her wails filled the room.

"HAKU! SHIT, HAKU!" She jumped out of the stretcher, grimacing at the pain, and started limping after the orderlies. She grabbed their clothing, tearing at them, screaming. They were strong, and shouldered her off, taking the body to the morgue/infirmary. Eventually, Gumi became to weak to stand, and collapsed.

Luka scooped up the young girl and left the gathering room, the door slamming shut behind her.


	5. Headache

5: HEADACHE

Two sugars. Just enough creamer. That was for Kaito.

Three sugars. Loads of whole milk. And chocolate. Those were for the twins.

One sugar, no creamer. That was for Mikuo.

Black. That was Miku's.

Gakupo loaded the tray carefully with several mugs of coffee, and it balanced precariously in his pale hand. Exiting the side entrance office, he made his way through the silent halls of The Matryoshka. The building was asleep. Everything was eerily quiet, and the lights were very low. He liked it this way- he felt like the only man in the world. That is, until he arrived at the wooden door marked 'Lounge', and pushed his way inside.

"Oh, great, thanks." Miku jumped up to get her coffee, and the others followed sluggishly. Once all the coffees were gone, Gakupo turned to leave.

"Wait, Gakupo." Miku called, sitting back down on the long moth-eaten sofa. She patted the cushion next to her. "We need another brain in here."

Gakupo raised an eyebrow. "For what, ma'am?" He only had one stripe across his nose, and wasn't familiar with Miku enough to drop the formalities. Oh well, she liked it.

"Working out this whole situation." Kaito said, holding the warm mug in his hands. It was freezing everywhere you went in this building, and the lounge was no exception. "For instance, who the _hell _gave away our location to some random homeless girl?"

All eyes turned to Mikuo, who shrank in his seat. "She seemed like she'd fit right in, and you said we needed more recruits…"

"I'm more concerned with the fact that the other one was killed so quickly and so thoroughly." Rin said, trying to direct some of the attention away from innocent Mikuo. "The bullets were shot from a professional, military-grade rifle. Not something a penniless rogue could pick up."

"Do we know what kind of gun? Certain gangs have trademarks…" Gakupo suggested, but they shook their heads. "That's for Meiko to figure out, and she doesn't get back till tomorrow."

"Where did you find them again?" Kaito asked, curious.

Next to him, Len made a face. "Across from the old Alyss building."

Everyone was silent.

"Yeah, but its not them." Gakupo said, a bit hesitantly.

Len snorted. "Obviously. We killed them all. You were all there, you remember."

"I wasn't." Mikuo pouted. "Sister dearest locked me in her office."

"It was for the best." Miku said sadly. "You have no idea…there was blood everywhere…Not only did all of the Alyss die, but about twenty Matryoshka as well. You're lucky I kept you out of the way."

There was an awkward tension, but Gakupo broke it. "Any chance it's a new gang? Trying to take us on?"

"That's probably it, yes." Miku said, running her fingers through her electric blue hair. "We can easily wipe them out. But still…if they've got weapons…"

"Won't be as easy." Rin finished.

"And what about the girl? The other one? Greeny?" Len asked, resting his chin on his hand.

"Gumi." Mikuo corrected, but they ignored him.

"We'll have to talk with her. If she wants to stay…I guess that's fine…" Miku said through gritted teeth. "If not…an agreement will have to be arranged."

"But she can't do anything. I doubt she's ever handled a weapon in her life." Kaito complained.

"She'll learn." Mikuo said. They could tell he really wanted Gumi to join. Miku smirked. Was her little brother developing a tiny crush?

"I'll speak to her today. When the sun comes up." Miku said, crossing her arms firmly.

"Um…" Len fidgeted. "I don't think that's a very good idea."

Miku raised an eyebrow, her fists clenching. Stupid Len. "Oh really? Is that what you think, Mr. Two Stripes?"

Len winced. "I'm just saying, she's mentally and emotionally unstable, and you can be a little…harsh."

The room was tense. Everyone expected Miku to lash out and attack the 5'1" blonde. But she remained in her seat, fists tightened, and eventually said, "Fine. Fine. Then you, Gakupo, you go."

"Me?" Gakupo's eyes widened. "I…don't know if I'd be good at that."

"Don't care. I want you in the infirmary with her in an hour." Miku stood up, dusting off her skirt. She didn't usually wear them, but she happened to be out of clean sweatpants today. "Meeting adjourned."

Mumbling and complaining, everyone shuffled out of the Lounge quietly. Everyone except Len.

"What do you want, Len." Miku sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Don't you have roof watch?"

"Rin's got it. I wanted to talk to you." Len said firmly. Kaito stuck his head back in the doorway of the lounge, frowning. "Len? You coming?"

"Just a minute."

Kaito looked between Len and Miku, and understood. "Got it. Take your time." And disappeared down the hallway.

Miku didn't wait for Len to start. She jumped right in with what she had to say.

"Five years."

Len sighed. "I know."

"I met him in high school. We were just best friends at first, and then, something developed. We were in love. When my parents were killed, I decided to run away, and he insisted on coming with me. He would have done anything for me."

"I know. He still would, you know?" Len said reassuringly. He attempted to put a hand on Miku's shoulder, but she pushed it off sharply. "He wouldn't have…he would still…if it weren't for _you_."

Even though it was meant to be derogatory, Len felt flattered. "You mean he never showed any signs before?"

"Nope. Well…I don't know if I'd be able to tell….anyway, no." Miku sighed. "Look, I get that its not your fault. I guess I'm mostly mad at him. But…seeing you…with him…"

And suddenly, Len enveloped her in a hug. She was taken aback, but eventually responded by wrapping her thin arms around him. He was quite shorter than her, and it felt like hugging a child. In some ways, he was. The Kagamines were only 14. When Miku was their age, she was still a spoiled, rich brat going to private school. Yet Len was spending his time perched on rooftops, aiming deadly rifles at people.

"Do you want me to give roof duty to someone else today?" Miku asked. It was particularly cold today.

Len raised an eyebrow. "I hug you and suddenly you're nice to me?" He smirked. "Strange. But yeah, that would be great, actually."

"I'll give it to Meiko, once she gets her ass back in town."

Len nodded, squeezed Miku one last time, and left.

She couldn't help but call after him, "You better treat Kaito well, or I'll stab you in your sleep!"


	6. Patched Up, Crazy

**Hey guys, so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy with marching band, which pretty much takes over your life, if you didn't know :)**  
**There is more to come soon, most likely tonight or tomorrow. Thanks! Read and review, please!**

* * *

6: PATCHED UP, CRAZY

When Gumi was finally able to open her eyes, everything was purple.

She shrieked. Purple covered her vision; blinded her. Was there something wrong with her? She started to panic, and squirmed in the infirmary cot.

Suddenly, the purple receded, and a concerned face loomed over her. "You're awake, I'm sorry, I was just fixing your bandages…had to lean over you…"

Gumi blinked hard. Oh.

"I'm Kamui Gakupo."

She didn't care who the man beside her was. She didn't care where she was. Because the memories were coming back into focus, and tears began to leak out of her eyes.

"Shit. Did I do something?" The man looked across the room to someone Gumi couldn't see. A woman's voice replied, "No, she's in shock. Are you sure you can't come back, Gakupo?"

"Ma'am wanted me to talk to Gumi right away. Sorry, Luka."

The medic sighed. "Just don't take too long," And left the infirmary.

Gumi tried to wipe the tears away, but they just kept coming, in thicker streams. Gakupo waited patiently until she'd collected herself, and then said, "Um…welcome to the Matryoshka."

Gumi snorted. "Yeah. So glad to be here." If sarcastic words were daggers, Gakupo would be dead three times over.

"Miku- our leader- sent me here to talk to you."

"She wants me to go back to the streets, right? Or do I know too much, and you have to kill me?"

Gakupo frowned. "Neither. It's your decision. Would you like to join?"

Gumi's eyes widened. Back to the original plan, then. It only reminded her of Haku's enthusiasm for joining, and she started to tear up again. She blinked it away and said, "Of course, that's why we were coming here in the first place. Except we took a few wrong turns, and…and…" She looked at the floor, heaving breaths.

Gakupo didn't know how to deal with this. Comforting people was not in the mindset of a Matryoshka. But this girl was so pathetic, so miserable…

Gakupo placed his hand over hers, and waited until she was able to speak again.

"Anyway, yeah. I have no choice now. No roommate to protect me. No one to hide behind. So where do I sign up." All emotion in her voice was gone.

Gakupo removed his hand. "Come with me."

... ... ... ... ... ...

Gumi screamed and gripped the arm of the seat.

"Sorry, miss, almost done." The man grunted, forcing her to hold still with his heavy hand. The needle dug into the skin over her cheekbones, and she had never known such agony. Why, why, WHY did she choose this design? She could have gotten one stripe on her nose and left.

"It's looks awesome." Gakupo said from the corner, crossing his long legs. Gumi didn't care if it was the most beautiful tattoo on Earth. She just wanted the bastard to finish.

"Done." He pulled away, grinning. "Badass."

Gumi groaned as she faced the mirror. Sure, they were cool, but they were red and swollen and painful. _I guess that's what happens when you get a tattoo from an amateur,_ she thought snidely.

After inspecting hers for a while, she turned to look at the other two in the room. The purple-haired man, Gakupo, wore a tailored three piece suit and had his long hair swept into a ponytail. This exposed his tattoos- three small black dots in a row down his face, and one stripe across his nose.

The tattoo artist looked very young to even be in a gang. He was quite short, had big blue eyes, and white wispy hair sticking up from his head. For some reason, he had two stripes instead of two.

Gumi was about to ask why, when someone poked their head around the door.

"Hey, Festival is in an hour." The girl said, popping her gum. She had a long blonde ponytail and clutched a cellphone. "In the warehouse."

"Thanks, Neru." Gakupo nodded, and Neru disappeared.

"What's Festival?" Gumi asked, swinging her legs off of the parlor chair and stretching.

"Exactly what you'd think- a festival. Everyone just gathers in the warehouse and sings and dances."

When Haku got really drunk, she would sing at the top of her lungs. Gumi grimaced. _Don't think about it._

"Gumi?"

"Hmm?" Gumi blinked. "Sorry, what?"

Gakupo raised an eyebrow. "I said let's go get ready, alright?"

… … … … … … …

"Ready, lift!" Kaito said, and the four men groaned as they hoisted the piano into the air. Len grimaced. "How did I end up with the heaviest end?"

"Because you're so buff." Kaito replied. "Now, to the door, ready? Move!"

Mikuo and Sora glanced nervously behind their shoulders as they inched the piano towards the door of the warehouse.

"Keep up the good work, boys!" Rin shouted. She was perched on a table, filling the punch bowl with the usual flavorless purple drink. No doubt gallons of vodka would be added in later.

Luka appeared at the table, holding a cell phone in her right palm. She thrust it at Rin. "It's for you."

Rin only knew one person who used a cell phone. "Hey, Meiko." She answered, cradling the phone with her neck and pouring punch at the same time. "Are you almost home?"

"Um…no. Slight problem. I won't be home until late. Very late."

Rin frowned. "What? Why?"

There was a pause. "I've sort of been….kidnapped."


	7. This Insane Rhythm

**Wellll it's been a while, hasn't it? I know, I'm awful. But to reward you for being so patient, this one's nice and long. Enjoy, and review please! :)**

**Just to remind you: I don't own Vocaloid, Matryoshka, etc.**

* * *

CHAPTER 7: THIS INSANE RHYTHM

"_Get out, Miku! RUN!"_

_The young girl stood in the door frame, watching in horror as her parents crammed valuables in a suitcase. Her clothes were tattered, her hair was in knots, and she still clutched the teddy bear she slept with every night._

_Gunshots echoed in the distance._

"_Miku." Mrs. Hatsune stopped sorting jewelry to grab her daughter's shoulders. "Just go. Get your brother and get out through the back door, alright? We'll meet you outside in just a moment. Okay?"_

_Miku's wide eyes shone in the dim light. Slowly, she gave one nod of confirmation. Then, as if she'd been awakened, dashed down the hallway to Mikuo's room._

_As she shook her brother awake, someone downstairs lit a match and threw it at the curtains…_

"Chief?" A soft voice called behind the door. Two raps on the wood, and they pushed it open.

Miku whirled around. She pretended like she hadn't been staring at the Hatsune family portrait, but Rin knew.

"What is it, Kagamine?"

"It's…Meiko. She's in a…situation."

… … … … … … …

He wore a faded blue scarf and black, ripped clothes. A single earring dangled from his left ear, covered in spikes and painted to look like it was dripping blood.

_Charming_, Meiko thought.

She assumed he was their leader, from the way he carried himself. He put off an egotistical air as he sat across from her, folding his hands.

"Name?" He growled.

Meiko said nothing.

"What's your name?"

Meiko said nothing.

The leader's eyebrows narrowed, and he snapped his fingers. Immediately, one of his henchmen stepped forward and slapped Meiko across the face. It didn't phase her, but she decided to reward them with, "Meiko."

"There we go. Who did you call before we intercepted your cell phone?" As if to gloat, he held up the phone by its strap, dangling it in front of her face. "A friend? Your mommy?"

"My mommy was killed by people like you two years ago." Meiko snapped, crossing her arms as well as she could with her hands tied together.

"What is that supposed to mean?" One of the henchmen said, stepping forward. The leader held up a hand and gestured for Meiko to say what was on her mind.

"Savages. Unorganized groups of rogues, just looking for a good time. Killing whatever annoys them."

"Ah, but Meiko." The leader kicked back his chair and began to pace around the room. "We are not ordinary savages. We're quite famous ones. Maybe you've heard of us?"

Meiko rolled her eyes. "I really don't give a shit. Can I go now?"

"I'll give you three guesses." The leader smiled wickedly.  
… … … … … … … …

"Shouldn't we be hurrying?" Gumi asked Gakupo as they turned another corner. "To, like, save her?"

"She usually has pretty good control over the situation." Gakupo said, unlocking the weapon storage and gesturing for Miku to enter first. She did, and the chief looked around the dark room, surveying the contents. Behind her, Gumi's eyes widened.

Guns of every shape and size lined the shelves. Plastic buckets of knives and daggers were scattered all over the floor. A box labeled "Grenades- Hand" sat next to a carton marked "CAUTION: EXPLOSIVE".

"Don't touch anything." Miku ordered as they ventured further into the room. Gumi wondered why Miku was taking so long. She could just pick something and they could go rescue Meiko.

"In case you were wondering, I'm trying to figure out which ones she took with her last week."

Oh. Gumi looked around as well, trying to find gaps in the shelves. After what seemed ages of looking, Rin shouted from the opposite end of the room, "Looks like she took the palm gun."

"Oh, thank God. I hope she still has it." Miku said, wiping sweat off her forehead. Gumi was relieved that they had at least been slightly worried about Meiko.

"What's a palm gun?"

"What it sounds like." Gakupo said, guiding Gumi to the door, maneuvering through the dark and into the hallway. "Small enough to fit in your palm or in a shoe, but powerful enough to hurt someone."

"So if she's got a gun, why hasn't she busted herself out of there?" Rin asked, trailing at a respectful distance behind Miku.

"She's probably trying to get some information out of them first." Miku smiled. "That clever fox."

… … … … … … … …

"Go on, guess!" He pounded his fist on the table. Meiko smirked. He was like a little toddler losing at a board game. Pathetic.

"I'll let you know when I give a fuck." Meiko raised a shoulder.

"Okay, fine. Fine. I'll just tell you. Thanks for spoiling all the fun, bitch. " The leader stood up again, and pulled off his scarf. Meiko couldn't hold back her gasp of surprise.

A jagged, crimson scar, not yet fully healed, stretched across his neck from one end to the other. It was obvious that someone had attempted to slit his throat, but not been completely successful.

"That's a nasty boo-boo. I hope one of my friends gave it to you." Meiko said, trying to sound condescending. But there was a quiver in her voice. Because if these people were who she thought they were, this man was not the leader. He was very low on the ladder of powerful gangsters.

"As a matter of fact, they did. Say hello to Gakupo for me." He sneered. Meiko raised an eyebrow. Quiet, adorable Gakupo? Who made the coffee?

"Good for him. Too bad he didn't finish the job."

"So did you guess already? I know you know. You're just too scared to say it out loud."

Meiko swallowed.

"Go on." The man leaned forward, and caressed Meiko's face with a rough hand. She jerked away, hissing. He laughed, and repeated, "Take a guess."

… … … … … … … … …

"The car only fits two." Miku said. "Gakupo, we need you to man the side entrance. Rin, you need to stay here and prepare for Festival. Assure everyone that there's no reason to panic." She turned to Gumi. "So that leaves you and me, Greenie."

Gumi's eyes widened. "Me? But…I'm new. I don't know anything about fighting, or…"

"Just get in, will you? Think of it as…penance."

"For what?"

"For…your loss. Whatever, just get in the car." Miku said firmly. Another pang went through Gumi's stomach. She didn't protest anymore, just climbed in the passenger seat obediently.

Gumi looked around in wonder. She'd never been in a car before. Almost all of them were recalled before she was even born, and the remaining ones were illegally kept in secret locations. Like this one. It was pretty clever- no one would ever suspect that a poor, deserted city like this would contain one of the last cars on Earth.

"This is an advantage, right? Do other gangs have cars?" Gumi asked as Miku started the engine. Miku didn't bother with her seatbelt, so Gumi left hers off as well.

Miku rolled her eyes. "Of course they do." And they were speeding off, down roads and sidestreets. Gumi held her moth-eaten armrest tightly, the force of the car throwing her against the seat.

"I have a really bad feeling about this." Miku said. Then, before Gumi could respond, she pushed an earplug into her ear canal,and pressed a button on the steering wheel. "What've we got, Gakupo?"

Gakupo's voice echoed throughout the car, startling Gumi. "She's in the same street Haku was killed on."

"That's what I thought."

"Coincidence, maybe?"

"Unlikely. Can you trace the cellphone to what building she's in?"

"Sorry, no. This thing's got limitations."

"Fine." Miku took the thing out of her ear and stopped the car. "We're here. Get out."

As they climbed out, Gumi tried not to look around them at the familiar street where her best friend was killed. Thankfully, the blood had dried up, and someone had washed it away. But she could still feel it- the sadness and the tension that hung in the air.

"What do we do now?" Gumi asked as Miku began prowling down the street.

"We wait for Meiko to bust herself out." Miku responded, pulling out a pistol from her backpocket.

"You were sitting on that? That's a bit dumb, don't you think?" Gumi exclaimed.

Miku glared. "Just shut up and keep watch."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"So who do you think did it? You said you had a bad feeling about this." Gumi finally asked. She had been curious for a while.

Miku hesitated, then sighed and began to speak. "A long time ago, there was this big fight between us and another gang. They almost won. Almost brought down the Matryoshka. They were really good, I have to say. Very impressive. Always one step ahead of us. I don't know how they did it, but…" Miku shivered. "It was one of the worst experiences of my life. And I've had some bad ones. At least twenty members were killed."

Gumi kept her eyes on Miku, watching her facial expressions. It was the first time she'd seen the chief look so emotional.

"Anyway, we somehow managed to destroy them. Killed them all. At least, I'm pretty sure we did. I had the bodies counted, had them stacked up and burned. But there were rumors…and there's always the chance that some of them had gotten away."

Gumi shivered as well. Miku's low, raspy voice only added to the suspense.

"And this gang was called?" Gumi prompted. Miku raised an eyebrow and looked up and down the street, like any second the evil gang would jump out of the shadows.

"Alyss." She whispered, her voice barely audible. "They were called the Alyss."


	8. To The Beat

8: TO THE BEAT

"The Alyss? That's a gay-ass name for such a tough gang." Gumi said, snorting.

Miku glared daggers at the green-haired girl. "You shouldn't joke about something you don't understand. I lost friends in that fight."

"You're not the only one who's lost friends because of a gang." Gumi snapped. There was an awkward silence. Miku absentmindedly shifted her gun from left to right hand and back again.

Gumi thought the waiting would never end, until a gun fired somewhere inside the building to her left.

The two girls looked at each other, nodded, and ducked behind the car. Just in time, too- because in the next split second, the doors to the large building burst open and Meiko came flying out, leaving a blazing trail of swear words behind her.

"FUCK GET IN THE CAR FUCK LET'S GO DRIVE BITCH DRIVE!" She screamed, opening the passenger's side and slamming it closed. Miku and Gumi scrambled around the car and climbed in. Gumi hesitated, as Meiko had taken her seat, but Meiko grabbed the girl and pulled her onto her lap.

Miku started the ignition, and as they drove away, Gumi turned around to look. Five teenage boys were chasing after them, holding the biggest guns Gumi had ever seen.

"Don't worry about it." Meiko said, patting down her short bob of brown hair. She was surprisingly calm, despite being a raging lunatic just seconds ago.

"We're safe. They wouldn't dare follow us."

"How many were there?" Miku asked, turning left. Gumi noticed that they were taking all kinds of secret and back passages to get to the Matryoshka Headquarters.

"Couldn't tell you. There were three in my interrogation room, but I didn't see the rest of the building. Drugged me beforehand, I guess."

"They didn't search you for weapons?" Gumi asked. She didn't know much about gangs, but it seemed foolish not to disarm your enemy before you place yourself in a locked room with them.

"Of course they did. Strip-searched, in fact. Hope they liked what they saw." Meiko rolled her eyes.

Gumi frowned. "Where did you hide the palm gun then?"

"Knotted it in my hair. It was better than the other option." She smirked.

Gumi stared at Meiko, shifting uncomfortably in the older girl's lap. "How much further, Miku?" She groaned.

"Here." The car slowed as Miku backed it into the garage. Mikuo was waiting for them in the back of the garage, staying in the shadows.

"Good, you found her." Mikuo said, smiling and hugging Meiko. Meiko rolled her eyes. "I didn't need them, I would've gotten back just fine by myself."

Miku snorted. "Without a car? Right."

Meiko led the way into the building, unlocking it with a key from her pocket. Gumi didn't want to know where she'd hidden that either.

"Oh, by the way, who's the rookie?" Meiko asked as they entered the office where Gakupo kept watch. Gakupo looked up and smiled warmly at the returning Weapons Expert.

"Oh, Nakajima Gumi." Gumi said, sticking out a hand, but Meiko just kept walking, through the side office and into the main lobby.

"So what did I miss?" Meiko asked as she neared her office. Well, it wasn't really an office, Gumi noticed- it was a closet next to the weapons storage. A single moth-eaten beanbag occupied the room. The first thing Meiko did was collapse onto it. It deflated a bit under her weight.

Miku shot Gumi a look, and Gumi understood it meant, _Don't tell her yet. She's tired._

"Nothing much." Miku said. "Festival's going on right now, but I take it you want to rest."

"Oh, so you didn't tell them about me? Life goes on, huh?" Meiko smirked, but she looked a little offended. "Anyway nah, I'm fine. Let's go." She hopped up and stretched. "Little newbie needs to experience the madness." Then, grabbing Gumi's pale arm, she led them to the Warehouse.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Holy shit." Gumi breathed, squinting in the colorful strobe lights.

"We gangsters know how to throw a party." Meiko said, elbowing Gumi. "Go ahead, jump into the throng. I'm gonna go get wasted." Then she left, and Gumi watched as she dumped about 16 ounces of straight vodka into the punch bowl.

"How often do you do this, exactly?" Gumi asked, turning around to face Miku. But the bluenette was gone, already lost in the crowd of sweaty teenagers.

For a while, Gumi leaned against the wall, listening to the music. The band were playing wonderful songs, but she figured the crowd were too lost in dancing and shouting to notice. The lyrics were really beautiful in some of them.

"_The distorted ordinary life, a forbidden love, __  
__and a heart of deception. __  
__Our imperfect love has been painted __  
__completely black in this ebony world.___

_I've always wanted to say this to you, __  
__this mere one phrase, __  
__if my uncontrollable impulse __  
__will end up being shattered."_

"This one's my favorite." A voice said next to Gumi. Startled, she turned to face Len Kagamine.

"Hello." She said awkwardly. She hadn't really been introduced to the blonde boy, but he seemed friendly 24/7, and kept talking like he'd known her forever.

"The lyrics are so beautiful, don't you think? Why aren't you dancing?"

"I'm not much of a dancer." Gumi said stiffly, folding her arms. A teenager with pink hair ran past them to throw up in a bin.

"Charming." Len grimaced. "Anyway, that's fine if you don't like to dance. But you've got to participate in some way. Festival's a gang-wide activity. Gotta earn your participation grade." He grinned. "Can you play any instruments?"

"…No." Gumi lied.

"A liar if I ever saw one. Come on, what is it? Guitar? Piano? We need a pianist." Len's eyes lit up.

Gumi shook her head rapidly, refusing to answer. There were bad memories tugging at the back of her mind, and she'd rather not bring them up into consciousness.

_Piano lessons. Paid for by my dad. Good old Papa. Only he didn't like it when I screwed up at a recital. _

She blinked, and shook her head some more.

"Okay, you can sing, then." Len said, and before she could protest, he had grabbed her wrist and was pulling her through the crowd.

"What? I- NO! No, Len! Don't!" She cried as he shoved dancing teens aside and led her to the stage at the front of the warehouse.

Just in time, the band was finishing Imitation Black with a final powerchord.

Len gestured at the vocalist, and the boy leaned down. When Len whispered something in the singer's ear, he grinned and nodded. Together, the two boys lifted Gumi onto the stage. After writhing and complaining for a while, she gave up.

Gumi hid her face in her hands as the singer said into the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen! If you'll allow me to introduce our newest member…the Kick-Ass Nakajima Gumi!"

A roar went up from the crowd. As a few stray teens wolf-whistled and screamed things like, "We love you!" And "Sexy beast!", Gumi realized that this was her first official introduction to the Matryoshka. What a way to do it.

"Here, this is what the band can do." The singer, a handsome kid with shaggy black hair, handed Gumi a crumpled list of songs. She only recognized a few, and after seconds of consideration, pointed at one. Might as well get this over with.

Secretly, Gumi had always wanted to sing in front of a crowd. In 6th grade she'd tried to convince her parents to get her voice lessons, but they thought piano was much more practical. And then her best friend went on to get leads in all the musicals and became the school rock star. Of course, that was before…

"Excellent choice." The singer said, grinning. Then he looked her up and down. "Fits you somehow. Anyway, have fun!" He dived into the crowd, and they carried him to the other side of the room, happily screaming his name, "RON! RON! RON!"

Gumi stood in front of the microphone, her every limb shaking. She cleared her throat, and the audience waited impatiently.

"Um, hi. This song's called…" She cleared her throat again.

"Just sing the song!" A man in the back called, and a few jeers followed

For some reasons, this gave Gumi what she needed. "Fuck you, let's go." She said, and pointed at the guitar player. "Hit it!"

At once the stage was alive with deafening chords and thunderous drum beats. Gumi grinned; she couldn't help it. Then, with a drum roll into the intro, Gumi took a deep breath and belted out the words.

"_With pipes made of scrap wood, and rusty car wheels in piles, __  
__everyone has gone crazy at the paintings market. __  
__While the yellow dartboards are studded with syringe needles, __  
__the hands at the home base are keeping themselves busy knitting."_

They went crazy. They loved her. They screamed her name while they did some of the most complicated dance moves she'd ever seen. The guitar player smiled and encouraged her to go on. She did a few jumps in place, waiting to come in for the next verse, and enjoyed watching the crowd. Then, right before she started singing again, she spotted Miku.

The bluenette was against the wall, next to Kaito, staring straight at Gumi. It was hard to read the expression on the leader's face. Was it pride? Contempt? Jealously? Awe?

No. As Miku stared at the green-haired wonder performing her heart out, she could only think how much Gumi reminded her of herself.

As Gumi busted into the chorus with confidence, Miku sighed. "Please don't do what I did." She muttered under her breath. "Don't ruin yourself."

"Hmm?" Kaito turned to her, sipping punch. "What'd ya say?"

"Nothing." Miku walked away, stepping out of the warehouse and into the quiet street. The moon was waning tonight, and hung like a crooked smile in the sky.


	9. Upside Down

9: UPSIDE DOWN

"_I don't think we're doing the right thing, Hachiro."_

"_Of course we're not, dumb-ass. Be quiet, she'll wake up."_

"_But I'm really regretting this decision, Hachiro."_

"_Damn it, Rina! It's too late for second thoughts. Now help me carry her out."_

_The voices were distant and muffled, but Gumi could just make out their clipped, hushed sentences. Her eyes were closed. Her head felt fuzzy._

"_I could always get a second job, Hachiro."_

"_Shut up, woman. You've already tried that. It's not enough. Now you get her arms, I've got her legs." _

_Gumi felt herself floating in the air. She'd always wanted to fly, like the magicians in her favorite fantasy books. Apparently she wasn't a very good flier, though, because she crashed onto the ground below. She moaned from the massive pain that spread throughout her skull._

"_Shit, she's waking up!" A voice said from far above her._

_Gumi moaned again and slowly opened her eyes. It took her forever to register who stood above her, and finally, it came to her-_

"_Mom? Dad?" _

_They climbed into the car, but not before Gumi's mother shot her a sad look. Then they sped off._

"_Mom? Dad?"_

…

"_Where are you going?"_

… … … … … … … …

Luka woke up with a pounding headache. Damn it. Another hangover. She needed to stop going to Festival. There were patients to tend to, and having her brain flattened out by tiny, invisible hammers didn't make it any easier.

She climbed out of her comfortable bed, wincing as the motion made her vision go fuzzy. She threw a robe over her lacy nightgown and left the dormitory, making sure to be quiet as she passed the other girls. With a glance through the dusty window at the darkened sky, she figured it was around 6 AM.

It was lonely and creepy in the hallway by herself. Since no one else was awake, she wasn't allowed to turn on any lights. So she felt her way around corners, occasionally hitting door handles.

When she turned left into the infirmary, she ran right into a tall, dark figure.

Startled, she shrieked and jumped back. Gakupo stepped out of the infirmary and frowned.

"Sorry, did I scare you?"

"Jesus, yes." Luka ran a hand through her long, magenta hair. Gakupo squeezed her shoulder, moving past her into the hallway.

"Sorry. Just grabbing this." He shook the bottle of aspirin.

"Ooh, I'll take some of that." She said, grabbing the bottle and screwing it open. She swallowed one dry.

"It's for Miss Nakajima." Gakupo said, taking it back from Luka and tucking it into the pocket of his pinstripe slacks. "Figured she'd need it."

"Yeah, more than any of us. How many songs did she sing last night?"

"At least eight. Didn't get to bed until three in the morning. And the crowd kept handing her drinks."

"Yeah. Booze, no sleep, better get that to her right away. Meanwhile, I've got patients to tend to. Out of the way, Kamui."

Gakupo smiled and walked down the hallway out of sight. Luka entered the tiny, cramped room and turned on her electric lantern.

The few people that lay on bare cots groaned and rolled over, turning away from the light. She smiled and put a blanket over the lantern, muting the light. Then she flicked the switch on a small, round machine, preparing her patients' tea. Luka

barely knew them, but that didn't stop her from treating them like her children.

She had to, since she couldn't have any herself.

… … … … … … …. …

Gumi rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms, accidentally hitting something when she did. She looked left and jumped, shrieking softly.

"Are you going to freak me out every time I wake up?" She asked, sighing and falling back onto her pillow.

Gakupo smiled apologetically. "I'll try."

"What's that? Ooh, awesome." She sighed with relief as she unscrewed the bottle of aspirin and swallowed two. "I can't believe you guys do that every other night."

Gakupo shrugged. "If you ask me, its pretty stupid of them. I'm sure its not worth risking our security."

"Hey, I'd say its pretty worth it. Festival is fantastic." Gumi put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. She could still hear the crowd screaming her name.

Gakupo smiled. He was happy the gang had already accepted her into the family.

As he left the tiny room reserved for new members, he hummed a few bars of Gumi's song "Panda Hero" to himself.

_Pa pa lah Pa Pa lah…._

… … … … … … … … … …

Miku knocked three times on Len's door and waited patiently. After minutes of waiting, she grew impatient, and opened the door.

Started, Kaito and Len jumped away from each other.

"Sorry!" Miku blushed and began to leave. "I'll come back."

"No, it's okay. What's up, Miku?" Len asked, nonchalant. Kaito grabbed a brush from the sidetable and ran it through his messy blue hair.

"I'm…uh…calling a meeting. My office this time. It's urgent. So…come when you're ready." She scratched her head and looked at her shoes, the depression filling her soul again. Seeing her ex-boyfriend making out with someone else just reminded her of all the good times they had together, and those memories were occupying her brain now.

"So, yeah. See you there." She quickly left, closing the door behind her.

… … … … … … … …

"You want to what?" Len cried, leaning forward in disbelief.

"Miku, that's not going to be easy." Luka said, frowning.

"So much to organize." Gakupo rubbed his temples, already thinking of all the precautions he'd have to take.

"I've made my decision, everyone. It's for the best." Miku said, folding her arms and glaring at her team.

Rin shook her head. "So, what, we're just going to run away from everything?"

"That's not what moving means. We're just putting ourselves at a safer distance from the new kids in town. We don't need any more kidnappings or interrogations. Not everyone is as strong as Meiko. Do you want it to be like last time? Having to travel in packs every time you went outside? I won't risk another turf war."

"But we were here first." Mikuo said. "I know its childish, but still."

"They came here looking for trouble. We've had enough of that. Besides, moving to another area of Japan will make it easier to raid smaller villages. Gather supplies and weapons. Then we might be ready to take on the Alyss."

The rest of the team were silent as they pondered this.

Finally, Meiko spoke up. "She's right."

The others glared at her.

"What?" Meiko shrugged. "We don't have near enough fire power to take them down. From what I understand, the old Alyss had at least three hundred members, and that was just in Japan. They're a worldwide trend."

"So are we, though." Kaito said. "People in France go around claiming they're one of us. Children in Beijing draw little stripes on their noses in washable marker. We're just as big as they are."

"How many members do we have now? Won't it be impossible to move all of us from one location to another?" Len asked.

"Head count last month told us we have two hundred and seventy four." Mikuo said.

"Seventy five." Gakupo added, and for a brief moment, everyone smiled. They'd all enjoyed Gumi's performance last night.

"I've already worked out how we'll move. We'll go in small groups of twenty, every few days. One of us will lead each group."

"We've only got one car." Meiko said.

"Yeah, and where are we going, exactly? Have you picked out a location?"

"Yes, actually. Another ghost town, near the Katakami River. It's about 18 miles away."

"You've really thought this through." Mikuo said, surprised and a little proud of his sister.

"Why there?" Luka asked. "Just curious."

"There's a huge, empty shopping mall, big enough to hold everyone. I mean, this school is big, but its small as far as schools go."

"Ooh." Rin said. "A mall would be perfect for us."

"You just like it cause it's a mall." Len punched his sister in the shoulder, and she smirked.

"So how do we get there? Like I said, we've got one car." Meiko asked, determined to keep Miku on the ground.

"Ah." Miku smiled wickedly. "That's the fun part."

Everyone leaned forward eagerly. The Matryoshka hadn't had proper fun for years.

Miku let them wait a few seconds, until finally whispering, "We're going to hijack a train."


	10. Not So Childish

10: NOT SO CHILDISH

At noon that day, Gumi and the rest of the Matryoshka squeezed into the cafeteria for lunch. The members with three stripes got served first, then the two stripes, and finally, Gumi's group of newer members with one measly stripe. Gumi loved that stripe now. Whenever she was in front of a mirror she stared at it in pride, stroking the bridge of her nose where it would be forever.

She hadn't felt like part of a family for a long time.

She was surprised when Ron, the vocalist of the Festival band, served her noodles in the lunch line.

"Hello." He said pleasantly, leaning over the counter. "Good to see you again."

"You work in food distribution?" Gumi asked. A few people complained that she was holding up the line. She ignored them as Ron said, "Yeah. Most one-stripes get cruddy assignments like this."

Gumi's eyes widened. She hadn't noticed- he only had one line across his nose. He was pretty bad ass for a new member.

"I'll see you later." She said, smiling and picking up her tray.

"You're gonna sing at the next Festival, right?" He called after her.

Gumi frowned and whirled around. "But…that's your job. I thought it was a one time thing."

"Nah, I'd love for you to join me up there. We could do duets. Besides, I need a break. I do that shit at least four times a week."

Gumi smiled. "Sure, okay."

Gumi looked around the packed cafeteria. Practically every table was full. She searched frantically for an empty spot where she wouldn't feel uncomfortable- it was like middle school all over again.

At last, in the back corner, she spotted a table completely bare except for one person.

"Hullo, Gakupo." Gumi said, sliding in the seat across from him and smiling. He looked up, surprised. "Hi." He said, and went back to the paperwork in front of him.

"What's that? I didn't know gangs had paperwork."

Gakupo snorted. "They don't. I do. It takes forever. Look." He pushed a few towards Gumi, who read them.

"Inventory of Supplies…Room Assigments…Food Statistics…Head Counts…Jesus, Gakupo." She looked at him sympathetically. "You bit off more than you can chew."

"You think I chose to be Secretary-Errand-Coffee Boy? It's only because I was the voice of reason when Miku was first starting the Matryoshka. She figured I could be in charge of everything practical, and they would all just take care of the fighting and shit."

Gumi had never seen him like this. He was less calm and collected, and seemed extremely stressed.

"Here. I'll help." She insisted, and before he could protest, grabbed a pen and the nearest paper. She'd always been good at math in school, so she finished the Food Statistics quickly. When she was finished, she slid it across the table and said, "What's next? I've got all day."

Gakupo smiled.

… … … … … … … … … …

An hour later, the crowd in the lunchroom had thinned out, but Gumi and Gakupo were still hard at work. In the middle of calculating Weapons Needed, the doors to the cafeteria burst open and Len and Rin ran in, yelling gleefully and carrying something between them. Others in the cafeteria jeered and jumped out of their seats to encircle the twins.

Gumi looked up from her checklist, frowning. "What's going on?" The crowd blocked her view of the siblings and whatever they had brought with them.

Gakupo rolled his eyes. "Something really stupid that happens about once a week. It's not worth seeing. Gets boring after a while."

But Gumi ignored him and went to join the spectators.

In the middle of the circle were three people. Len, Rin, and a man Gumi had never seen before. When she peered closer , she saw that he wore a policeman's uniform.

She watched as Len propped him up in a chair, and Rin tied his wrists together around the back.

"What's going on?" Gumi asked, her heart starting to pound. No one near her answered, they were too busy screaming joyfully.

She could see the man plead for mercy once before Rin punched him in the mouth.

The crowd cheered, and encouraged her to do her worst. The man moaned and slumped forward, but Len forced him back into the chair with his foot.

Rin looked around the crowd, smiling and looking for volunteers. At least a dozen people jumped up, raising their hands and yelling, "Me! Me!" Like when teachers pick students to play a game.

Rin chose a random girl with green hair, a deeper shade than Gumi's, and drew her into the middle of the circle. The girl had a wicked grin on her face, and didn't hesitate to kick the policeman in the balls. He moaned and the crowd cheered.

Gumi could only watch in horror. Eventually she felt someone pull her away from the spectators and back into the corner of the cafeteria.

She turned to face Gakupo, a look of pure hatred on her face. "What the HELL is going on?" She had to yell to be heard over the jeers and shouts behind her.

Gakupo looked ashamed. "Its just a…thing they do. Don't worry, they let him go after they get bored. No one's ever been too badly hurt."

"It's sick." Gumi pried his hand off of her arm and backed toward the door. "You people are sick. What did I get myself into? Jesus, Jesus." She ran then, away from the cafeteria and away from Gakupo and away from the policeman crying in pain.

… … … … … …

"Gumi, you're in a gang. Did you forget that?" Mikuo sighed and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. She shuddered. "No, I just…" She glared at him. "It's sick. What did policemen ever do to you?"

Mikuo shrugged. "Figures of authority have never liked us."

"Well, yeah." She rolled her eyes. "But that one didn't do anything. He's got a family at home, worried about him."

"Oh geez." Mikuo rubbed his temples. "Did I recruit the wrong person? Listen, Gumi." He leaned close to her and she couldn't help but quiet down when faced with his intense blue eyes. "You joined possibly the most dangerous, well-known, violent gang in the country. I know right now you feel all warm and fuzzy because everyone here's being all nice to you. But I think you're forgetting that we're outcasts. We're the freaks of our generation." He threw his arms back. "We represent all the fucked up teenagers in the world. What made you think we wouldn't do crazy things? We've had more street fights and miniature wars than the U.S. and Europe combined. And when we see someone that runs this screwed up government, our immediate instinct is to beat the shit out of them."

Gumi's eyes were wide and she was still shaking a bit. But Mikuo was making sense, thank God. He was reminding her why she was here in the first place. Because the world sucks, that's why. Her best friend is dead, her parents are gone, and half of the cities in Japan are deserted and filled with homeless losers.

She sighed and absent-mindedly ran her hands through the carpet of Mikuo's room. It was warm and cozy in here, and she felt very welcome, despite hardly knowing him. It was Mikuo who brought her here in the first place, anyway, and she was very grateful for him.

"Yeah, I guess I get what you're saying." She said softly. Then she glared at him. "You guys are still fucked up though."

Mikuo smiled and, to Gumi's surprise, put his hand over hers. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, "I didn't mean that about recruiting the wrong person. I couldn't have found someone more perfect for the Matryoshka."

… … … … … … …

The next day, there was a list of names taped to the door of the Conference Room. Every single Matryoshka checked the list to see if they were on it- most of them walked away disappointedly.

But some, however, grinned and did a little dance in place, like Nakajima Gumi.

**OPERATION "CHOO-CHOO, MOTHAFUCKAS" **

**PARTICIPANTS:**

**AKEGATA RAI**

**AKITA NERU**

**HATSUNE MIKU**

**KAGAMINE RIN**

**NAKAJIMA GUMI**

**SAKINE MEIKO**

**SHION KAITO**


	11. Sprung Adventure

11: SPRUNG ADVENTURE

"I feel ridiculous." Gumi said, looking at the folds of her skirt in disgust.

"Shut up and make some sacrifices." Miku said. "Now close your eyes."

Gumi sighed as Miku applied generous amounts of eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and various other eye things. Gumi had never worn makeup in her life, and she didn't like it.

"Last but not least, the tattoos." Miku spread peach goo over the stripes on Gumi's nose and cheeks, completely covering them up with several foundations and creams.

"This is a lot of work just to steal a train."

"They won't let us on if we look like street rats." Miku replied, finishing the touches on her own complexion. When she was done, she looked around the room.

Everyone assigned to the mission was gathered in the girls' dorm, all dressed up in fancy outfits stolen from nearby villages and warehouses over the years. The men looked smart in tuxedo and three-piece suits, and the girls wore dresses or skirts and blouses. Gumi herself was stuffed into a victorian-style green dress with a built in corset. She cursed modern fashion trends for bringing the 1800's back into style.

Unfortunately, the corset resulted in unwanted cleavage, and she noticed a few of the boys glancing at her chest.

"Well, gang. Are you ready for this shit or what?" Miku yelled. Everyone shouted back at her, cheering. Gumi was quivering with excitement.

"We all know the plan, correct?"

Correct, they replied.

"And we leave no one behind, correct?"

Of course, they replied.

"Then let's go hijack a train!" And she ran out screaming a war cry. The rest of them followed her, their eerie screeches filling the halls. Gumi grinned and ran after her family.

… … … … … … … … … …

Miku stepped on first, scanning her Metrocard in the small device.

"I'm paying for my friends as well, sir." She said, flashing a brilliantly white smile. "We're going shopping today."

The driver nodded, looking grumpy, and waved the small group of teens onto the light train.

Gumi had never been this scared before in her life. As she walked down the train aisle on shaky legs, she looked around the small train and was relieved that there were only a few passengers on it today. A small man sleeping in the front and a woman reading a newspaper in the middle.

Miku gestured for her "friends" to sit around her in the back. As Gumi moved past her to sit by the window, Miku hissed, "Look happy. We're rich kids going shopping."

Gumi managed a fake smile and took her seat, fanning her skirt out in front of her.

The driver looked behind him to make sure everyone was seated. Then he brushed his short, pink hair back from his eyes and pressed a button to start the electric engines.

Miku ducked behind a curtain of teal hair and whispered into her earpiece, "Ready, Gakupo?"

"We just need the train's model number." He replied from Matryoshka HQ. Gumi wondered where exactly all of this modern technology was located, and how the gang had gotten hold of it. Earpieces, computers, tracing software, and more were stored secretly somewhere in headquarters. Gumi hoped to find them someday.

Miku's eyes darted all around the train compartment, searching for a number, any number.

"Model number, I need a model number." She hissed under her breath. The boy in front of her, whom Gumi did not know, replied under his breath, "They don't usually write it on the inside."

"Fuck." Miku scratched her head and whispered, "Gakupo, we can't get to it if it's on the exterior. Any other way you can lock on to us?"

"Maybe if you give me the company and that particular train's route."

"Um…" Miku looked to Gumi for help. Gumi remembered the big block lettering on the side of the light-train, and she whispered, "Tanabe Tramway."

The chief repeated it through her earpiece, along with the route they were taking. After a few tense moments of waiting, Miku nodded at Gumi. "Get ready."

Suddenly, the lights flickered, and the train jolted to a sudden stop. The other two passengers looked around wildly, murmuring under their breath. The driver checked levers and buttons, but the train wouldn't budge.

"Show time." Miku stood up confidently and strode to the front of the train. She stood directly behind the driver, and, with a steady hand, held the barrel of a gun to his head. Simultaneously, Meiko threatened the old man in the back with a pistol, and Neru did the same with the woman passenger.

Gumi got a shiver of excitement and fear.

The other passengers screamed a bit, but Meiko got them to shut up.

"Now." Miku said to the driver, who was slowly putting up his hands in surrender. "This train is under the control of the Matryoshka. We've got it deadlocked. You three will walk off of this train, unharmed, and then we will commandeer the train. Got it?"

The driver said nothing.

"I said got it?" Miku growled.

Then, he started to chuckle.

Gumi and Kaito frowned at each other, then turned their attention back to the driver with pink hair. The driver was laughing harder now, a full, evil belly laugh that echoed throughout the train.

"Shut up!" Miku said. Gumi heard the quiver in her voice. They were all confused. "Now stand up and you're gonna get off the-

"Oh, shut up, will you?" The driver stood up slowly and turned around to face them all. "Now, listen, this has been fun, but I'm on a schedule. Kuriko?"

The woman being guarded by Neru stood up and laughed as well. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" She taunted Miku. Miku looked to her team, desperate for help. They shook their heads.

"They're bluffing." Akegata Rai, the boy with black hair, shook his head. "Just finish the job. Come on, you heard Miku. Move!" He kicked at the driver, and made his way to the train doors. He pulled at the handle once. Twice. Four times.

Locked.

And the woman, Kuriko, slowly opened her trenchcoat to reveal….

Miku froze. No. She'd failed them. It was too easy. No.

Across the train, Gumi looked at the woman with wide eyes, and then at her leader, who wasn't moving.

The air was tense, and the bomb ticked away.


	12. A Crooked Gait

12: A CROOKED GAIT

_Two young children with teal blue hair sat crouched in the bushes, being as quiet as they could while their parents were murdered just twenty feet away._

_Miku covered her brother's mouth while he sobbed. She wanted to breakdown as well, but knew she had to be brave for Mikuo. So she put on a stone-cold face and kneeled closer to the dirt. Her parents, meanwhile, slowly turned to ash._

_A voice in the distance shouted, "They're dead, man, let's go!" Several pairs of heavy feet thundered down the sidewalk, away from the destruction that engulfed the Hatsune residence._

_Miku stared down at the nasty burn that snaked across her entire left leg. Grimacing, barely able to stand, she picked up her little brother and took off across the greenbelt, never looking back. _

_... … … … … … … … … … …_

For a brief, scary moment, Gumi thought she had gone blind. Everything was completely pitch black. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. When she felt around for something to grab onto, however, her nails sunk into flesh. A moan from above told her that it was simply Miku sprawled on top of Gumi, blocking her vision.

Gumi shifted so that she could pull Miku off of her and onto the ground. Then, looking around, she began to take mental note of everything. The bodies- alive or dead, she couldn't be sure- of their fellow train passengers were sprawled across the prickly grass, bent at strange angles. Some were burned. One had a missing arm. Gumi tried not to look at it, but as she got closer, she felt she was going to be sick.

Luka. Blood-stained pink hair, and one arm. Was she alive? Gumi was too much of a coward to check. She stood up and dusted herself off.

A moan emitted from Miku, and the chief slowly sat up, rubbing her temples. She snapped her fingers next to each ear. Then, nodding, stood up and faced Gumi.

"Status report." She said. Her voice was raspy and she looked so, so tired.

Gumi raised an eyebrow. She could tell that Miku didn't want to look- didn't want to see how many of her friends had been hurt.

"Um…" Gumi began walking around, checking pulses and observing their surroundings. They were at the bottom of a steep, grassy hill. Far above them were the railroad tracks, blown to pieces by now. A section of the train roof lay just a few feet away.

Each body she came to was worse than the last. Most were still breathing but not moving. However, when she bent down to check the pulse of the unfamiliar black-haired boy, she got nothing. Frantically, she knelt down and listened to his heart. She felt around his body, trying to find some kind of wound that could be fixed. Something to turn back time.

Staring at him sadly, she looked at the two black stripes across his nose, and reached down to close his eyes. Just another Matryoshka casualty.

Meiko was the third one up, and she immediately jumped into action. She dragged the dead bodies of the enemy passengers- the driver, the old man, and woman, into a ditch. Then she made her way over to Gumi. They both stared down at the dead boy, sighing. Meiko shook her head.

"I liked him. He was hot. And a good fighter." Then she dragged him into the ditch as well. Gumi wiped the few tears that had gathered on her cheeks away, and she went to join the senior members in the middle of the carnage.

"Um, the status report, I guess, is that everyone's alive. Except for Akegata."

Miku nodded, her lips pursed. Gumi looked down and saw that the chief's left leg was shaking.

"We should try and carry them, one at a time." Miku said, tying her teal hair into a tight ponytail and rolling up her sleeves.

"Up the hill?" Gumi was skeptical. The hill was incredibly steep. And once they got to the top, it was at least a ten minute walk back to HQ.

"I'll try and get back in contact with Gakupo, but in the meantime, we're vulnerable down here. Luka's the worst. You get her head, I'll get her legs."

But as Miku began the few steps it would take to get to Luka, she moaned in pain and sunk back down to the ground. Gumi and Meiko immediately rushed to her aid.

Miku swatted them away. "I'm fine. Get me up and help me with Luka."

Meiko glared down at her friend. "No. I'm going to get Luka. Gumi's going to get you. Right, Gumi?"

Gumi raised her eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. Yeah sure."

Miku was about to protest, but a glare from Meiko shut her up. Gumi offered her leader a hand. Together, with Miku using Gumi's shoulder for support, they ascended the hill.

… … … … … … … …

"_Is your leg gonna be okay, sissy?" Mikuo asked, gingerly touching the burnt tissue. Miku bit her lip, trying not to scream. She moved his hand away and smiled with clenched teeth. "Yes, in no time."_

"_Then we can get out of here, right?" Mikuo looked around miserably at the dirty soup kitchen. The manager in the back- a scary, overprotective chubby woman- stared at them in disapproval._

"_Of course. We'll find our own place, okay?" Miku smoothed back her little brother's short-cropped teal hair._

"_A house in the country like mom and dad were gonna buy? With chickens and cows?"_

"_And horses and pigs. The fat ones you like." Miku smiled, and the orphans embraced tightly. Then Kaito returned to their table with three bowls of hot soup, and they drank until their bellies were full, Kaito's arm draped around Miku's tiny frame._

… … … … … … … …

The car ride back was tense. Gakupo drove at a mild speed, not in any particular hurry to get back to HQ. They knew the anger and misery that awaited them.

After a few minutes of silence, Gakupo turned to Gumi, who was in the front seat.

"How could this have happened?" He asked. "I don't understand."

Gumi shrugged, feeling horrible. However bad she felt, though, Miku was feeling ten times worse.

"I just stood there, Gakupo." She whispered from the back seat, her leg propped up on Meiko. "I just froze. If I had started evacuating everyone sooner…"

"Ma'am, you did more than anyone else could have done." Gakupo assured her. "It was a huge shock."

"Thank God for Gumi." Meiko said. She had a cigarette in her mouth, and the smoke drifted out the open window and into the air. "She jumped into action."

Miku looked at the floor in shame. She was dreading the next few minutes, where she would have to face the Matryoshka and tell them that it was her fault, all her fault.

And she would have to inform them that there was a traitor within their walls.


	13. Nauseating

**Hello! Just letting you know, I haven't abandoned you, just having a bit of writer's block and being busy with region band and all that. Fourth chair in the region, in caaaase you were wondering (You probably weren't, but oh well, I've told you). But here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy...**

**xx**

* * *

13: NAUSEATING

Gumi cleared her throat and tapped the microphone. She felt so uncomfortable, so out of place. But Mikuo had asked her to do this, and she owed him so much.

So she started singing.

"_Sleeping soundly, I have a dream __  
__Of your profile __  
__Without noticing the overflowing tears __  
__That are running down my cheeks__  
__I've hidden the heartrending __  
__Throbs that are in this chest__"_

There was a girl sobbing in the front row of the assembly. People turned their heads down respectively, trying to avoid looking at the girl. Gumi assumed she had some kind of connection to Akegata Rai. She kept singing, looking straight ahead.

When she hit the high notes on the chorus on "Last night, Good night", the crowd did something amazing. Every single Matryoshka joined pinkies and began to sway back and forth, staring at Gumi and looking somber. The girl in the front cried harder, and her eyeliner ran down her face in ugly streaks.

… … … … … … … … …

"No offense, and I know this sounds horrible," Gumi said, leaning against the back wall of Mikuo's office and swirling her hot chocolate with a spoon. "But haven't a whole bunch of people died here? Do you have a funeral like that for all of them?"

"In the old days we wouldn't. But a casualty is so rare these days it's pretty tragic. Kind of reminds everyone of what it was like a two years ago." Mikuo replied. He dropped a few marshmallows in Gumi's cup and sat across from her, Indian style.

"Is Luka okay? I know her arm…" Gumi trailed off, seeing the expression on Mikuo's face.

"Can we kind of…not talk about it anymore?" He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I'm kind of feeling sick just thinking about it. All of my friends…so close to…" He cleared his throat, shook his head rapidly. "Anyway. I have an idea."

"An idea for what?"

"For a way to cheer up. Come on." And he stood up, dragging Gumi to her feet. He dug around his office closet, murmuring to himself. Then, finally, he whipped out two pairs of…ice skates.

Makeshift ice skates, sloppily built with scrap metal and suede, laced together with string. Gumi stared at them, her heart pounding. There were memories racing through her head now, and not very good ones, either. She shoved them out of her mind and smiled at Mikuo.

"What are those for?"

"What do you think?" He grinned back and opened the door. Then he stood aside and gestured grandly. "Apres-vous, my lady."

Blushing, Gumi stepped out into the hall, followed closely by the blue haired boy. As they made their way to the elevator, he slipped his hand into hers and whispered, "This is going to be _fun."_

… … … … … … … …

"You haven't lived until you've skated here. This exact spot. The Matryoshka pond." Mikuo did a little hop in his crude skates, wobbling a bit before eventually crashing to the ice. Gumi had to fight the urge to laugh, and flew out to help him, gliding gracefully across the shimmering pond before coming to a smooth halt in the center.

Mikuo blinked up at her. "How…?"

"Mom went through a phase where she wanted me to be a figure skater. Twenty classes later she changed her mind. But I still remember." Gumi said, helping him to his feet. She did a little twirl in place. The ice was a perfect consistency, and the pond was surrounded by trees and frosted bushes.

"What did _you _want to be?" Mikuo asked curiously, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Gumi thought. She'd never really thought about it. Mom and Dad were too busy shoving their plans down her throat. Piano lessons. Skating classes. French. _But Mommy, I want to be a singer like Hirano-san. I want to be like Yui. Don't be stupid, Gumi. Singing is for stupid, silly little girls. You're going to be a skater and go to the Olympics. No, you're going to be a doctor. No, take piano lessons and become a prodigy. You don't want to? What was that? Excuse me? You'll do what I tell you and like it-_

"Gumi?"

Gumi blinked and turned to look at Mikuo. With a very serious expression, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. For a minute Gumi thought he might kiss her. Her heart started racing and her hands started shaking.

But he said in a low, dramatic voice, "I'll race you to the other side."

Gumi laughed and said, "You don't even have a chance."

"Yeah? Loser has to carry the winner home."

"That's a dumb punishment."

"Well I'm tired and I don't want to walk."

Gumi rolled her eyes and grinned, swiveling around to face the opposite end of the wide pond. Mikuo counted them off- "Ready, set….NOW."

They took off. Gumi was in the lead by several feet, her skates taking long strides, the wind in her hair. Mikuo struggled to even stay upright, and by the time she reached the other side he had fallen again, laughing and writhing on the ice.

The walk back was short, which was good, since Gumi was taller and bustier than her blue-haired friend. But somehow, he managed to carry her honeymoon-style all the way home.

They reentered through Gakupo's office, laughing at the ridiculousness. Gakupo looked up from his desk and raised an eyebrow. "Chief was looking for you."

"Really?" Mikuo put Gumi down, smoothing out his hair. He looked embarrassed- he had screwed up again. "What did she want?"

"Oh, not you." Gakupo waved a dismissive hand at Mikuo, who frowned. "Gumi."

… … … … …. … … … … … …

"Come in."

Gumi entered nervously, looking around the Chief Matryoshka's office with discomfort. "Sorry, Mikuo and I were just…"

Miku raised an eyebrow. "It's fine. Sit." The floor was bare. The entire office was bare, much like all the other rooms in this place. It wasn't a surprise- most of the ghost towns in Japan had been stripped of all valuable items years ago as thieves and rich people made their way into the new major cities. All set for the homeless to move in and take their place.

The office was bare, Gumi knew, except for a single portrait behind her. She had barely glanced at it on her way in, but she saw immediately that it was the Hatsune family. Little Mikuo and his big sister, looking happy. Now, as Gumi approached the chief sitting cross-legged on the floor, she saw the permanent damage behind her eyes, the scars and bruises that constantly covered her body, and a reserved detachment from the world.

Miku started speaking as soon as Gumi took a seat across from her.

"I don't know if you heard me say something about a traitor yesterday," She began, fiddling with the hem of her button-down shirt. Despite their lack of resources and poverty, Miku always managed to stay well-dressed and classy, Gumi had noticed.

Gumi nodded. Something was wrong. A chill ran up her spine and she waited for Miku to continue.

"Well, it's obvious. We either have a traitor within us, or another gang somehow planted a recording device in this very room. And Gakupo and I personally check this office for interference once a week, so that's out." She looked at Gumi with something in her eyes like sadness, and said quietly, "People are going to think it's you."

Gumi blinked. "Wh-What?"

"It's very convenient. You arrive a week before Meiko is captured and our hijack is sabotaged. You strangely know nothing about the Matryoshka, even though every one else does. You won't say anything about your past or history."

"I…I don't even…" Gumi couldn't get a sentence out. But she was slowly standing up, the anger boiling her insides, making her hot, she had to open a window, she had to…

Miku held up her hands. "I'm not saying you are the traitor. I'd find it hard to believe, to be honest- you're shit when it comes to street smarts. But I am saying that at some point in time they're going to come after you. Ever heard of mob mentality? One person finds a scapegoat, the rest will follow like idiotic little sheep."

Len swung open the door then, without knocking. "Chief? You're needed on the roof. It's urgent."

Miku sighed. She turned to Gumi one last time and gave her a half-hearted pat on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, I'm sure. Just warning you." And brushed past the girl without another word.

Gumi stood frozen in the Chief's office. _Mob mentality. Scapegoat. Traitor._ Images of a policeman beating beaten half to death for the enjoyment of the Matryoshka filled her mind. Slowly, after one last glance at the portrait of the regal Hatsune family, she turned and left the office, slamming the door behind her.


	14. Purposefully Insane

**I know, I know, you probably all hate me for taking so long. But here is the next chapter, and to make it up to you, I'm going to update again late tonight. ****I hope you all had a good Christmas/holiday season. I certainly did, and let me tell you I probably gained twenty pounds from all those sweets. xP**  
**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Vocaloid or Matryoshka, or any other songs I reference. Thanks for reading! Please leave a nice little review**.

* * *

14: PURPOSEFULLY INSANE

Gumi could still remember the Moonlight Sonata.

The warehouse was completely empty. It was just her and this crappy piano that had been beaten half to death by rough fingers and eroded by alcohol.

She took a deep breath and began to play. Her fingers moved across the keys like water, and she closed her eyes, smiling. If only her one recital had been this good. Daddy wouldn't have been so mad. Maybe she'd still be there, in her house. Reading in bed or watching TV.

She missed a note on the way up an arpeggio. She winced, and could practically feel the belt sting her backside. She continued anyway, the sound growing in a crescendo until she was playing so loud the stage shook.

When she was finished, she placed her hands in her lap. And then there was clapping. Gumi's head snapped to her left and she saw him. Gakupo. Seated on the floor, smiling happily.

"That was beautiful."

"I locked the door." Was all Gumi could say.

"Well I have a key."

There was a silent tension, and then Gumi sighed. "Well thanks. I'm going to go now." She got up and stormed off the stage, running through the warehouse, past Gakupo and through the doors.

He chased her. She groaned as he cornered her behind the main HQ building. She turned around to glare at him. "That piece doesn't bring back happy memories, okay? So if you're gonna tell me how great it was, just save it."

Gakupo blinked at her, surprised. "Why were you playing it, then?"

"What?" She snapped.

"Why play something that makes you so sad?"

Gumi crossed her arms, not sure how to answer that.

"Well it was beautiful." Gakupo said quietly. She looked up at him. His violet eyes were kind and friendly.

"I…thank you." Gumi looked at her boots.

"Should we go inside? It's getting chilly."

Gumi nodded tersely, and he looped an arm through hers, escorting her to the doors.

Mikuo was waiting for her in the cafeteria. He smiled at her and thrust a hot chocolate in her direction. Gakupo raised an eyebrow, but walked away, leaving them to be alone.

Gumi grinned at her blue-haired companion and took the hot chocolate. It wasn't great, but it was delicious by Matryoshka standards.

"Turns out the roof was a false alarm. So we've got the day off." Mikuo said, winking. Gumi felt her heart hammer in her chest. She didn't know why.

"You wish." Suddenly Meiko came up behind Gumi, grabbing her shoulders. Gumi jumped. "There's a meeting in ten minutes."

Mikuo glared at Meiko with intensity in his eyes. Gumi was surprised he looked so angry. "For what?"

"Dunno. Miku just wants me, you, Luka, Rin and Len."

There was an awkward pause. Gumi knew what was going on. She hung her head and clenched her fists.

'_They're going to think its you.'_

"Okay. Well have fun with your meeting, Mikuo. Thanks Meiko. I'm going to…see if Gakupo needs help." She trudged away, leaving the other two to begin walking hesitantly towards Miku's office.

Gakupo didn't need help. In fact, he brushed her off quickly and retreated to his office. She sat alone in the cafeteria, tapping her fingers on the tabletop. There were only a few other people in the room, milling around and adding bourbon and rum to their cocoa. The weather was growing colder outside and this made Headquarters very drafty. Everyone walked around in moth-eaten sweaters and gloves.

Gumi hummed a few bars of Panda Hero to herself, bored out of her mind. For a tough-as-nails, kickass gang, the Matryoshka could be very unexciting.

Suddenly, someone slid into the seat next to her. Gumi turned, and was face to face with a complete stranger. The girl smiled and tilted her head, causing her twin pink pigtails to swish to the side.

"You're the new girl, right?" She asked.

Gumi grunted.

"Kasane Teto." She held out a porcelain hand and Gumi shook it. The girl only had one stripe, which meant she probably had no more experience than Gumi herself.

"Gumi."

"I know- you're the cool singer from Festival." Teto grinned.

Gumi almost blushed. "Thanks. Did you…what did you want?"

"Oh. I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a walk."

Gumi stared at the stranger. "A walk?"

"Good, let's go." And Teto pulled Gumi up by her arm and led her into the cold air once again.

"Bet you've never seen this side before." Teto said, swinging her arms around as they turned the corner and approached the "garden". It was desolate and dead, just an empty carcass. Where flowers once might have grown there were dead weeds and metal stakes.

"Um…no. I haven't."

"It used to be beautiful and full of flowers, but we got so busy with the fighting and the raids, no one took care of it." Teto shrugged and did a little skip over some broken glass.

"…Right. Listen, is there any particular reason you wanted to go on a walk with me?" Gumi asked, coming to a halt behind Teto. Teto turned around, frowning.

"Of course there is. I wanted to ask you something."

"Then can you ask me now, please, because its fucking freezing out here."

Teto sighed and skipped closer to Gumi, her pigtails flopping around. She leaned in so that they were almost nose to nose, and she whispered, "Did you kill Akegata?"

Gumi stumbled away from the girl, breathing hard. "What?"

"Did. You." Teto walked with a purpose now, articulating every word with a quiet firmness. "Kill. My. Best. Friend?"

Gumi's eyes were wide and she looked around the garden hopelessly. The place was full of glass and shards of metal that, if stepped on, could cut through skin easily. The only way out was to get through the iron gate, which took forever to pry open.

"No." Gumi closed her eyes and shook her head. "I know you probably don't believe me, but I had no idea about the-

"Give me a reason to believe you."

"I don't have one." Gumi's voice was pleading now, and she continued to shake her head. "You just have to trust me. "

"Where were you before you came here? You don't seem very innocent."

"I was a rogue. My parents left me here and drove away when I was 12. I lived in St. Mary's."

Teto's eyes were still intense, her fists balled.

"The Alyss killed my best friend too." Gumi whispered. "I swear, I have nothing to do with them."

They were both quiet. The tension and anger in the air was so thick Gumi could almost taste it. And then, Teto spoke in her normal high, lilting voice.

"Okay."

Gumi raised an eyebrow.

"I trust you. Let's go back in. They make pudding at six o'clock!" And Teto looped her arm through Gumi's and led the way.


	15. World is Melting

15: WORLD IS MELTING

"_The number one princess in the world…know how to treat me that way, okay?"_

The first few lines of "World is Mine" echoed across the courtyard to where Gumi and Teto were seated on a stone bench. They'd been inside and outside all day, talking and playing the weird games Teto made up on the spot. Gumi didn't mind spending time with the strange girl; in fact, it was a bit refreshing compared to the intense attitudes of the rest of the gang.

"What the fuck?" Gumi frowned at the music coming out of the speakers in a high-pitched voice.

Teto explained, "It means there's going to be a raid."

Gumi whipped around, her eyes wide, to face Teto. "What? We're under attack?"

"No, stupid, we're the ones doing the raiding." Teto laughed and punched Gumi playfully in the shoulder. Sure enough, Gumi noticed a few Matryoshka streaking across the courtyard, hurrying to an unknown gathering place.

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"Don't bother. Raids are for two stripes and up." Teto shrugged, pointing to the single stripe on her nose. Gumi saw that the young girl was slightly offended, and she didn't blame her.

"That's weird. They leave the most inexperienced fighters behind to defend the whole place?"

"I think it's because the higher-ups just want to have fun once in a while. Raids do look very fun. They usually come back with all kinds of food and clothes, and sometimes cute boys." She smirked.

Gumi frowned. "They come back with people?"

"The ones who aren't scared out of their village, the ones who stay behind. We recruit them."

Gumi was silent for a moment. Yet another example of how harsh the reality of being in a gang was. Innocent people were chased out of their homes, and when they rebelled, they were forced to join the invading ranks.

"Anyway, when the higher-ups are gone, that's when the real fun starts." Teto grinned mischievously, and pulled on Gumi's arm. "C'mon."

The single-striped members were already gathering in the cafeteria, excitement on their faces. Gumi joined the circle warily, hoping that what they considered "fun" didn't involve more police brutality or worse.

As they talked and laughed together, someone placed a large hand on her shoulder. Gumi spun around, an angry instinct boiling her insides. She relaxed when she saw the friendly purple-haired coffee boy standing behind her.

"They do the same things during every raid. Play a huge game of hide and seek throughout headquarters. Steal from the kitchens and make dessert. That kind of thing."

"Sounds pretty lame." Gumi nodded, looking at the one-stripes clustered in the center of the cafeteria. They were like freshman in high school, high on false power and cocky. Of course, so was Gumi.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Gakupo asked.

"Like where?"

Gakupo shrugged. "My office. You can help me with stuff."

"Sounds exciting." Gumi faked a yawn, and grinned at his hurt expression. "Yeah, alright, let's go to your dumb office."

However, as soon as Gakupo had kicked open the door to his office, his computer monitor began flashing and "World is Mine" came back over the loudspeaker.

Gakupo frowned and rushed to his computer, clicking his way through things until the music had died down. He dialed Miku on one of the only cell phones in the building.

"What's going on?" He paused as Miku talked on the other end. Then his eyes widened. "You're kidding. What the fuck?" Another pause. "Of course. Yeah. Okay bye."

He hung up the phone, and was completely silent for a moment. Gumi stood next to him, worried. What was going on?

Then Gakupo turned slowly to face her. He said in a small voice, "I need you to hide everyone in a room somewhere and stand outside it with a gun. Just precautions, you know."

"What? For what?" Gumi cried. He sounded too calm to be giving these kinds of orders.

"They got there, to raid the village, and it was completely empty. Already raided. Food gone, shops completely bare. Most of the people were gone, but they found some bodies, too."

Gumi felt a chill go down her spine as Gakupo summed it up in two sentences, "The Alyss got there before us. Someone told them we were coming."


	16. Broken Piece

16: BROKEN PIECE

Gakupo took Miku's coat and slung it over his arm. Exhausted, the Chief collapsed in Gakupo's desk chair and rubbed her temples.

"I take it you weren't followed? Should I sound the alarm?" He asked, hanging up the coat on his umbrella stand.

"No." Miku sighed and slumped her head on his desk. "I just don't understand, Gakupo. That was the first unsuccessful raid in two years."

"I'm sure we have enough supplies for a few months."

"It's not the greed, or the supplies. It's the fact that they were one step ahead of us. Again." Miku looked up and stared at him with her intense blue eyes. "Tell me, Gakupo. Just tell me what I should do."

"Uh…" Gakupo scratched his head. "I don't really…"

"Never mind. Just get me Rin, I need to go over surveillance with her."

Gakupo frowned. "Its just the one stripes here, ma'am. I assumed she was with you."

Miku rolled her eyes. "No, she wasn't with us, Len said she felt sick and stayed home."

"Uh…okay, I'll try the girls' room…" Doubtful, Gakupo opened the intercom program on his computer and buzzed the girls' sleeping quarters.

"Rin, please report to the side office immediately." He announced into the tiny microphone.

They waited for twenty minutes.

Miku drummed her fingers on the table. "Where the fuck is she."

"I didn't see her anywhere while you were gone, ma'am. I swear, I think she went with you."

"She didn't." Miku snapped.

"Miku, she did." Gakupo leaned down so that he was eye level with her and gripped the arms of the desk chair. "I counted heads."

Miku stared. It was the first time he'd addressed her by her first name. Not Chief, or Ma'am. That meant he was deadly serious.

"Okay. Well. Okay." Miku stood up abruptly and left the office, slamming the door behind her.

She stormed down the corridors with a purpose. She kicked open every door that lined the hall as she continued through the building, checking for occupants. When she reached Kaito's room, she barged in, knowing Len would be there as well.

Len was changing into clean clothes, his normal outfit sweaty and dirt-encrusted from when he fell on the run back to headquarters. Kaito was already dozing on the mattress, snoring loudly.

When she cleared her throat, Len looked up. Miku was ashamed to notice that he looked pretty good shirtless.

"Where's your sister?" She asked.

"I told you, she stayed here. Felt sick."

"Did she tell you that?"

"Well yeah, she told Mikuo who told me."

"Have you seen her since?"

"…No, but have you tried the girls' room?"

Miku crossed the room in two quick steps and said, "Come help me look for her. That's an order. Because guess what, Len? She's not sick. She didn't come on the raid. And things are not looking so good for her."

… … … … … … … … … …

The lights were dim, and the walls were dirty and blood-spattered. But the occupants of the room had never had a better time in their life.

"World's End Dance Hall" played over a set of crappy speakers, and people danced with a chaotic passion. Occasionally, someone would shout, "Fuck the Matryoshka!" And everyone would cheer, and then keep dancing.

In the back corner, where it was darkest, a few people sat at a table, talking quietly. They passed around wine and cake and continually patted each other on the back.

On one end, the leader of the group sat in smug happiness. He had a ripped and faded scarf and greasy hair, and wore spiky earrings painted with fake blood. On the opposite end of the table, a young girl sobbed quietly as she crammed bites of cake into her mouth. Her short blonde hair swished over her eyes as she hid her sadness, tipping back more and more glasses of wine. The room grew hazy and started to spin. The men and women around her rubbed her shoulders and congratulated her.

The last verse of the song filled the room-

"_Seems like soon this feeling will suddenly vanish, __  
__so let's preserve this next instant moment. __  
__"Farewell, and take care." __  
__I utter to this ending world…."_


	17. Listen, It's Important

17: LISTEN, IT'S IMPORTANT

Len stared in the mirror, his reflection pale and tired.

He hadn't gotten any sleep, and there were dark bags under his intense golden eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. But there was anger boiling up inside him. He knew his sister. He knew her better than she knew herself. And he was 100% positive that she would never betray them.

He had pleaded with Miku for a rescue mission. She had been kidnapped, or tricked, or worse. She had simply given him a sad look and walked away. The entire gang had turned their back on Rin. They were certain she was the traitor, end of story.

But Len knew the truth.

Kaito came up behind him and placed gentle hands on his shoulders. "Have a bad night?"

"Slept for ten minutes." Len answered angrily. Kaito sighed and placed a mug of coffee in front of him. "You really need to rest."

"I really need to get Rin back."

"Len…" Kaito trailed off as his boyfriend whirled around and glared.

"Are you on Miku's side? Do you really think one of the oldest, most faithful members just turned traitor and stabbed us in the back for no reason?"

"No, but-

"Go ahead, then." Len took a sip of coffee and slammed it back on the desk. "Go down to the cafeteria and gossip about Rin. What a bitch. What a two-faced-

"Len!" Kaito interrupted angrily. "I'm on your side. I don't think Rin was the traitor. But there's definitely something fishy going on, and I don't think it's a good idea to try and get her back right now."

Len was speechless for a few moments, but eventually he stood up and stomped to the door.

"Where are you going?" Kaito asked, sitting down on the bed. He knew there was no stopping Len.

"To talk to our shitty leader." And he slammed the door. Kaito sighed and leaned back against the pillow, already dozing off.

… … … … … … … …

"Peanut butter and honey." Mikuo tossed the paper-wrapped sandwich into his sister's lap and slid into the moth-eaten beanbag next to her.

She mumbled a thanks and chewed absentmindedly, staring into space. Mikuo frowned at her. "Penny for your thoughts, sis."

"Len's right. It really doesn't make sense."

"Oh God, not Rin again."

Miku glared at him. "They were the first to join. Do you remember? Back in the day? It was just you, me, Kaito, Rin and Len. And then Meiko, and then Luka. But they were the first."

"Well sometimes the people closest to you are the ones that can hurt you the most."

Miku stared at her brother. "Wow. That was awfully deep."

"Read it in a fortune cookie. Wasn't a very uplifting restaurant. Anyway, I'm voting that we move on from this little speed bump and focus on the positives. At least we don't have to worry about the traitor anymore, right? We can make plans without worry."

"I guess." Miku said, sighing. And just as she was about to put all thoughts of Rin aside, the other Kagamine twin burst into the room.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Heard of knocking?" Miku snapped.

"I want to talk to you."

"Go ahead."

"In private."

Mikuo pouted, but stood up and moved past Len into the hallway.

Miku raised an eyebrow and gestured for Len to spit it out.

"I want you to interrogate everyone."

Miku rolled her eyes. "Len, if you would just-

"Shut up. Rin isn't the traitor and I want you to question every single person in the building. Even me, I don't care. Just please," And now Len was pleading, looking at her with the saddest eyes she'd ever seen, "Please do this one thing for me."

Miku thought about all the times she'd bossed him around or been unfair to him, all because she was jealous. It wasn't Len's fault her boyfriend had fallen in love with him. She was the one being ridiculous, caring more about her love life than the responsibility to her gang. And she knew how much he loved Rin.

"Fine."

Len blinked. "What, really?"

"Yeah. Sure. We'll start tonight, before Festival."

A smile of relief spread across the small blonde's face. "Thanks, Chief."

"Don't think it's going to help you. If anything, it might make things worse."

"I don't care." He made a move as if he might hug her, but then changed his mind and hung back in the doorframe. Then his voice lowered and he was speaking in a whisper. "I just wish you understood how well I know my sister. She would never-

"Yes, thank you Len. I would like to finish my lunch." Miku felt nauseous now, and she just wanted some peace.

Len nodded briskly. He turned to look at Mikuo at the end of the hall, and waved at him. The teal-haired boy approached the office, looking cross.

"What was so important that I couldn't hear it?"

"You don't have to put your nose into everything, Mikuo." Len snapped, and began to walk away.

"You know, I'm not that surprised it was your sister." Mikuo called after him. He felt hurt that he had been excluded yet again, and needed to release the anger boiling up inside. "I remember all those times she cheated at poker, and snuck out to smoke weed after lights out. Maybe she was more dishonest than you thought-"

Len had whirled around and was now coming straight for Mikuo. His face was a blank page, showing no emotion. Instead of yelling or making some sarcastic comment, he simply snapped out his fist and punched Mikuo in the eye. The boy howled in pain, sinking to the floor. Len looked down at his work, nodded in satisfaction, and walked away.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gumi carefully balanced the cups of water and mini cakes on the plate, knocking on the door with her foot so they wouldn't fall. When no one answered, she knocked again. She pressed an ear against the wood, listening hard for a sign that her friend was in there. When she heard a low moan, she pushed open the door and entered without permission.

"Who is it, what do you want." Mikuo groaned with his back to her. He was seated on his cot, facing the wall.

"Its Gumi." She said, approaching him with caution. She set the tray on the floor and eased onto the cot next to him. He turned to look at her, sighing. "Don't worry, it'll heal." He said, and she immediately saw what he was talking about. She gasped and grabbed his face, inspecting the purplish bruise that blossomed across his eye.

"How did that happen?" She demanded, and immediately got to work, wrapping ice in a napkin and pressing it to his face.

He winced and helped hold the napkin in place. "Let's just say I said some dumb things."

"I'll go get pain medication from Luka." Gumi started to stand up, but he pulled her back down by her sleeve.

"It's fine, really. Doesn't even hurt that much. How about we just hang out, and I'll forget all about it?"

Gumi smiled at him and reclined against the wall. "Okay."

"What do you want to talk about?"

Gumi snorted. "Anything. It's been incredibly boring the past few days."

"Yeah, it'll get more exciting at some point, I'm sure. But for now its mostly paperwork and practicing for a battle that will probably never come."

"Exactly. How long has it been like this? So uneventful?"

"Past six months, I guess. We haven't really had any problems with other gangs up until now. They're all scared of us. I know it sounds mean, but the train incident was

the most excitement we've had in a long time."

Gumi frowned. "Yeah, but people were hurt. I'd prefer that didn't happen."

"Well yes, obviously I would too. But the whole reason we started the Matryoshka was because we were tired of adults and authority not giving a fuck and letting us have shit lives. We wanted to annoy them, to make it difficult for them to run things in their own twisted way. Now we sit around talking and eating, occasionally popping out to steal some clothes."

Gumi wasn't sure how to respond to that. There was a sadness in Mikuo's eyes, and she could tell that his life before the Matryoshka had been just as messed up as hers.

Mikuo looked at her directly now, and smiled kindly, the melancholy disappearing. "But things seemed to get a lot more fun after you joined."

Gumi smiled back, but then felt a pang in her stomach. Haku. Was that what had catapulted this whole Alyss thing? Haku's death? She tried not to think about it, and instead placed her hand over Mikuo's. He looked down at their overlapping hands and tapped hers reassuringly.

Then in a quiet voice, he said, "You look nice today. Have you worn that top before?"

"No, Teto lent it to me." Gumi didn't tear her eyes away from his.

"Are you going to sing at Festival tonight?"

"Mhm." They were leaning towards each other now, filling the gap between them.

"I can't wait. You have a beautiful voice."

"Thanks."

"And do you-

The questions stopped when their lips met.

… … … … … … … … …

"All members will form a queue outside of Chief Hatsune's office at 1800 hours to be interrogated." Gakupo's voice echoed throughout the building and across the courtyard. "Any Matryoshka who withholds information from the Chief will face extreme consequences. Thank you."

Len popped his knuckles and stared out the window. He was going to get his sister back.


End file.
